PSprices, a website that monitors prices on Sony’s digital game store, recently discovered something interesting: certain games were being offered at different prices to different users. These varying offers were being tracked in the PlayStation API with experiment identifiers like IPT_PILOT and IPT_OPR_TESTING.
While dynamic pricing is common in many industries, it is not typically seen in online game stores. Sony is currently conducting A/B testing on prices for more than 150 games across 68 regions, although the US is not currently part of the experiment. The focus seems to be on offering discounts, ranging from 5 percent to 17.5 percent, on popular titles like Spider-Man 2, God of War, and Red Dead Redemption 2.
Despite the potential benefits of lower prices for some users, Sony’s implementation of dynamic pricing has raised concerns. Customers who receive a discount on a game like Sid Meier’s Civilization VII may feel disappointed if they learn that others were offered a larger discount.
We have reached out to Sony for comment on this matter, but have not yet received a response.
